where to buy pt-ep01 housing?

[watered down]

i did some looking around before i bought my epl1 and thought i remembered seeing housings for sale for 450-550$. now all im seeing is 600. was i hallucinating or do i have to pony up an extra 100 from what i thought? if anyone could point me to some place that sells them for less than 600 that would be awesome. thank you all in advance.

 

[jdfmail]

You weren't hallucinating...I saw them as low as $420 but now $599 is the cheapest. I guess it's discontinued and supply must be tightening up.

 

[jdfmail]

BTW are you really not certified? What will you use the housing for?

 

[watered down]

talk about irritating!! i didnt know discontinued things suddenly went up in value... if anyone comes across some that are lower and posts about it i would be seriously appreciative.

im a freediver and spearfisher so my photography wont be macro stuff like a lot of you scuba guys do... dont get me wrong its awesome but i can only hold my breath so long haha

 

[slowhands]

This is supply and demand. Olympus is out of production, so there are only a few new units in the hands of distributors and dealers. They all raised their prices $50. All production and distribution from Japan is impacted by the aftereffects of the tsunami, still. So I don't think this will get better soon.

About 3 months ago, after the newer housing for the E-PL2 came out, used housings showed up on eBay for $350-400. No more. Everything there is jacked up even higher than the $600 the legitimate dealers are charging for a PT-EP01.

The only real advantage of the older housing is that it will accommodate the EVF, but that's a useless accessory IMO. If I were looking for the housing today, I'd consider the newer camera and housing strongly, since support will be better near term. The new 14-42mm II lens on the E-PL2 is better. I retrofitted it on my E-PL1 and am very content.

 

[jdfmail]

the 01 and 03 are the same price now...I'd also go for the 03 or the xz-1 050 housing.

 

[watered down]

well it looks like im pretty much out of luck since i already have the epl1 and trying to sell it to go another route wouldn't be any cheaper. does anyone know if they are just not in production because of the tsunami aftermath or has the housing itself been discontinued?

 

[chicken197]

I got mine for $479 from B and H photo. It was the cheapest I could find anywhere. Video Direct has them for $475 but has mixed reviews on prompt shipping. Do a google search for the housing. I called B and H to get a price match with Video Direct. They sent the $479 offer back in less than 24 hours.

 

[watered down]

is video direct a reliable place to buy from? or will b and h work with me on pricing if i send them a link? thanks you guys are really helping me out here. im in florida so i dont know that i would have to pay tax if i bought from b and h, which is appealing...

 

[under water]

... will b and h work with me on pricing if i send them a link? thanks you guys are really helping me out here. im in florida so i dont know that i would have to pay tax if i bought from b and h, which is appealing...

answered in previous post

... I called B and H to get a price match with Video Direct. They sent the $479 offer back in less than 24 hours.